The Wii Makes It's Way Into Some Unlikely Places

By Andrea Berry, NCC News


(SYRACUSE) If you don't know the Nintendo Wii from experience then you might remember some of their wacky commercials featuring the two Japanese gentlemen who graced the doorsteps of small town America, remote controls in hand. If you've played the Wii then you know just how fun and intriguing they are. Even though video games are usually associated with young kids and teens, this highly coveted gaming system is bucking the trend and finding itself in the hands and hearts of a much different fanbase.

Alternative Medicine

91 year old Rita Fahey of Syracuse plays two 9-hole games of golf every week at The Nottingham Senior Retirement Community in Syracuse. Before making The Nottingham her home, golf was a major part of Rita's life. "I would play anywhere between two or three 18-hole games a week... I was an above average player" she said, and it shows. By Wii standards, Rita is nearly a golf pro with her score of almost 800 (a score of 1000 is considered professional). But for Rita, Wii golf isn't just for entertainment.

Back in December of 2006 Rita suffered a fall which broke her hip. She was on the road to recovery at the Nottingham when she fell again, breaking her other hip. Now Rita is nearly healed and her therapist Kelly VanAuken-Mason attributes much of Rita's success to playing the Wii. "When we first started doing the Wii we had her sitting in an arm chair, but we had to have her walker in front of her... She got more comfortable with the game... now she is totally able to do it on her own. Her endurance has significantly improved, before she could only stand up for maybe a hole and sit back down now she can almost standup for the duration of a nine hole game, which is fantastic." VanAuken-Mason says using the Wii for rehab is ideal because it forces the patient to focus on the game rather than the monotony of conventional rehabilitation exercises.

An Unlikely Prescription

The Wii may make for an unconventional approach toward physical rehab, but recreational therapist Donna Sims at SUNY Upstate Medical Center has seen the results first hand. Patient Bob Mabee Jr. of Syracuse came into SUNY Upstate not long ago after suffering from a stroke which affected his left side. Sims says shes been using Wii Bowling as a way to work with Mabee in order to force him to use the left side of his brain. Today with the help of his therapists Mabee is able to stand, something he couldn't do just days ago. "Instead of standing around doing nothing, you're doing something... you feel like you're getting something done" Mabee said.

For Sims, the Wii is just another piece of the therapy puzzle. "Every part of therapy puzzle is important... the fact is that if you enjoy doing something your going to go and do it more." Which is exactly what rehabilitation is about. Sims says the thought of conventional therapy often makes patients cringe but with the Wii they are taking their minds of the pain. "Every time they do those movements they are challenging their brain to do something to create a new path to go, in a place that they haven't been able to go and they are asking their brain to find another route [neurological pathway]... so by doing it we are challenging them in that way." Sims added that games like Big Brain Academy will benefit her patients who suffer from dementia because its a specifically tailored cognitive skills activity. "Its asking them to go quickly and be accurate and if they get it wrong it gives them another opportunity in another way... And that is forcing their brain to think and to act more quickly... That is going to encourage that rerouting just because they are working that muscle." Like any muscle, Sims said, the more you work it the better its going to get.

Video Games for Homework?

Well, not unless you're a surgical student. Arizona researchers Kanav Kahol and Marshall (Mark) Smith conducted a study of surgeons in training, using the Wii game Marble Mania. The game requires fine muscle movements of the hand, similar to those used in laparoscopic surgery. To monitor the students, a Wii remote was modified with a laparoscopic instrument (see image) to simulate surgery.

The researchers found the students who had trained using the game scored 48% higher in practice operations than the students who hadn't. So, does that mea if you're a good gamer you'll be a good surgeon? "Not necessary" Smith said. "There are many components that go into surgery and we only tested this one aspect, not anything on anatomy or decision making." Smith added that the results of the study were significant enough to warrant future studies on a larger scale.